


a tale of light and shadow

by enbyboiwonder



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Drabble Sequence, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hospitals, M/M, don't be afraid of the titles of some of these; everyone is fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28776009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyboiwonder/pseuds/enbyboiwonder
Summary: Kuroko might be a shadow, but to Kagami, he will always be the light.
Relationships: Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya
Comments: 4
Kudos: 90





	a tale of light and shadow

**Author's Note:**

> I found these mostly finished in my docs from when I last watched kurobasu like four, five years ago, so I brushed them up and added a final one to round it out. Disclaimer that I know next to nothing about anything to do with hospitals, because they give me anxiety. (Why do I keep writing about them, then…?)

i. light

Even though Kuroko calls him a "light" and himself a "shadow," Kagami has to disagree.

It isn't just that Kuroko has light-colored hair, while his own is considerably darker in comparison. It's the smiles, so rare on his otherwise seemingly expressionless face. The smiles that shine like no star could ever hope to. The smiles that light up his small world, cliché as it sounds, and make him wonder how he had ever lived before meeting the little Kiseki. He can hardly remember now what a life without him was like, Kuroko has so taken it over.

How could such a beautiful kid who shines so brightly not be the very light itself?

ii. dark

When his life falls into darkness—and, damn it, he doesn't care if he's being a touch dramatic right now—he knows his suspicions were correct.

The Phantom Man never gained much of a presence, even after helping guide the team to the Nationals stage two years in a row. He's still nigh invisible but to him, and, _damn_ it, he _told_ Kuroko to watch out for idiots when he crosses the street alone. Though, knowing him, he did, but that fucker straight-up ran the red light, probably not even bothering to watch for pedestrians—if he even saw him at all.

Of course, the bastard didn't even get a scratch on him while he put Kuroko in the hospital, condition critical—though stable soon enough, with a better chance of living than not.

iii. shattered

Were his shadow conscious and capable of saying anything, he knew he'd want him to go to school. So he did. His partner's condition was stable, and the doctors said he would live. Even so, worry has invaded Kagami's mind and pitched camp in even the furthest recesses of his brain, and he can think of nothing but Kuroko. What if he never wakes up? What if there's something wrong with him that the doctors couldn't determine in his comatose state? What if he never gets to see that rare, beautiful smile tug at the corners of those gentle lips again?

He may as well not even have been at school.

Coach gets fed up with his distractedness before practice is even half over and forcibly sends him home early.

iv. death

It's something he's never really thought of before, never really wanted to think about. He still doesn't want to, but it constantly tugs at his mind until he's forced to acknowledge it, screw that the doctors have pronounced that Kuroko is going to live, that there's no longer any danger of him dying. And screw that bastard who had almost taken his best friend away, for making him finally confront the idea of death head-on, when he's managed just fine all eighteen years of his life only thinking of it in abstract terms, in the context of book and video game characters, of long-dead historical figures.

These days, he thinks, he fears death even more than dogs (yeah, he's doing better around Nigou, but _only_ around Nigou), for he can't even begin to imagine anymore what a life without Kuroko would be like, and he's not sure he wants to.

v. colorless

It's suffocating, being in that hospital room. Everything is white—too white—especially Kuroko himself. If he was a phantom before, he's a ghost now. Kagami sits in the chair at his bedside, contemplating the strange feelings that grip his insides when he gazes at that sleeping face. They're teammates, yes, and best friends, but he doesn't think that quite explains why he cares so much, why he's absolutely positive that he can't live without him anymore.

On impulse, he reaches out and gently brushes fair locks from his partner's face, unable to help thinking how the juxtaposition of his own tanned skin makes Kuroko's look even paler. But Kuroko stirs just then, cutting his musings thankfully short.

When the Phantom finally opens his eyes, lips twitching upward into the ghost of a smile, a quiet "Kagami-kun" on his breath, Kagami knows that the light won't be going out anytime soon.

vi. wind

The first day that Kuroko's well enough to walk, Kagami helps him up to the roof. They lean back against the wall to one side of the door and stare out over the city below, an almost constant wind ruffling their hair.

"Kagami-kun."

Kagami relaxes his jaw which he hadn't even realized he'd clenched tightly and looks down at his friend, who's lifted one hand to shield his eyes from the noonday sun. His blue eyes are gentle as he gazes up at him and reaches out his free hand to brush tentatively against Kagami's.

"Thank you for always worrying about me. But I'll be fine; you don't have to worry so much anymore."

He doesn't know how it would ever be possible for him not to worry, but he nods anyway, wordlessly threading their fingers together.

vii. touch

It isn't something they talk about, but it becomes natural for them to hold hands whenever Kagami visits. He'd sit down in the chair next to Kuroko's bed, and Kuroko would shift his hand closer in silent offer, and Kagami would accept it, already launching into a recounting of the usual antics at practice, or of his recent run-in with Aomine, or an update on Nigou.

It comforts him to feel the warmth of his friend's palm, the cool of his fingers within his own; it feels right how perfectly their hands fit together.

Kuroko gently squeezes his hand, and it's only then that Kagami realizes he's been staring at their clasped fingers. He blinks out of his thoughts and slowly turns to his friend. Kuroko smiles softly, warmly, the early evening sunlight glowing in his hair, and Kagami forgets how to breathe.

viii. warmth

"Kagami-kun."

Kuroko's soft voice is half a question and half knowing, and Kagami finds, though his cheeks flush hot, that he can move again.

Gently he extricates his hand from Kuroko's to cup his jaw as he slowly leans in, his partner meeting him halfway and pressing his lips to his. The kiss lasts but a moment before Kuroko's pulling away, the phantom of his body heat still lingering on Kagami's skin.

"I like you, Kagami-kun," Kuroko says, reaching up to rest his hand overtop Kagami's on his cheek and lace their fingers together.

He stammers out something that he hopes sounds like reciprocation, feeling his face burning as red as his hair, a warmth that drives out his embarrassment curling through his chest at the sound of his partner's laughter, clear and bright.


End file.
